We are in Tokyo! After 3 long years we're finally back at my favourite city! A city brimming with activity & culture. Steeped between tradition & modernity. Not to mention there are all sorts of foods as well! And obviously we are here to eat! And in this trip we're going to dive deep into the foods that Tokyo has to offer! Sukiyaki... Tempura... Unagi... Ramen... Udon... Soba... A wide array of Konbini foods... All sorts of Wagashi... And of course, we'll try to explore some world class restaurants if our budget permits! But before we do any of that, I think it is apt for us to 1st revisit my favourite ramen in the world... Nakiryu~ So lets go~ We've employed the 'all or nothing' method, let me explain why :D It's about 9am now, Nakiryu opens at 11am So...when you eat at Nakiryu, you generally have to wait for about 1.5 hours...STANDING! But there are 2 chairs...they bring it out at 9am... It's for the 1st 2 guys who arrive, so it's sort of like a... Prize! XD So obviously we chose to come early so that we can sit... It's way better than standing for 1.5 hours :D By the way, if it's your 1st time visiting & you didn't get the 'Champion Seats'...it's ok :D They have this very cute looking diagram hanging right over there that explains how you should queue. Props to the artist! :D Since we have some time to kill, let me tell you a little story... For all the ramen-heads out there, you probably know that the 1st Michelin Star ramen is Tsuta...& that is back in 2015. However, if I understood correctly...there's another ramen store called Mist in Hongkong... & apparently in 2011 they actually got a Michelin Star. Back then Michelin didn't have the category for ramen, so they got it under Japanese Cuisine. And that chef...is no other than Kazumasa Saito, the chef of Nakiryu. Chef Kazumasa came back in 2012 & opened Nakiryu, specializing in Tan Tan Men... A spicy, numb-ey noodle that originates from Szechuan, China. However, of course he made the Japanese version. And in 2017 they got their Michelin Star which he has retained to date! Now... I'm going to need a bit of help from you guys... There's quite noticeable music inside...& generally when people eat ramen they tend to eat it in silence. So I'm not going to talk too loudly so as not to disturb the other patrons eating their ramen :S If you've been watching the episode without any subtitles to this point... I think it's about time for you to turn on the subtitles... You're going to need it >.< Here it is...in all its glory~ Smells as good as I remembered it to be~ Look at that fiery, volcanic looking broth... giving that noodle a very nice 'lava bath' :P And an Ajitama on the side, together with some Green Onions (Negi) up top! K, I'm gonna just start... Oooh....The broth~ Mmm... This broth... It brings back memories~ Mildly spicy & numb-ey, very savoury! The complex umami from the use of beef bones, chicken, oyster & kombu definitely shows! Converging to form a symphony in my mouth! Noodles are supple & bouncy, it clumps together mildly... Allowing that broth to stick! It's perfect for this broth! AND...See the morsels of minced pork clinging onto the noodles for dear life? They add an extra layer of meaty flavour... Not to mention...Mouth feel! The sesame paste & peanut crumbs don't scream in your face... It works in the back to pad the broth...giving it a lightly nutty aftertaste! K guys, obviously I wouldn't just order the noodles XD I got...low temperature cooked pork as well. We've got 3 slices, it looks pretty nice...I think...probably lightly peppered? Oh~ You absolutely must eat it on its own! I don't think you should dip it in the broth, because it has got a very delicate umami of the pork... It's served cold... Mmmm~ You can taste the fattiness & the lean texture of the meat! It's a very good piece of low temperature cooked pork~ Don't dip it into the noodles...the Tan Tan Men broth is way too robust for this... It will destroy the flavour of this pork chashu... Gonna move on to that Ajitama now~ Lets see how beautiful it is today... I'm gonna...Oh~~~ Beautiful~ Beautiful runny egg yolk! Lets go man~ Very well marinated! Good flavour of Shoyu...Some mirin, sake, as expected :P Very good egg...once again...as expected :D My god, this is so good~ Beautiful...Ajitama~ *Kindly pause to read* Quet: Hello guys, we are now at the busy town, Ikebukuro... 2-3 train stops from Nakiryu. And before we head for "Plating Time", let me introduce you to my favourite Wagashi... Mame Daifuku from Gunrindou! Gunrindou is a famous Wagashi shop, about 20 minutes walk from Nakiryu. And Mame Daifuku is a mochi with red bean filling...with some black soy beans outside. Ooo, look at how soft & powdery it is~ The skin is thin, soft...with a nice chew~ And the red bean paste is sweet with some grittiness... It's Tsubu-an which means there are red bean skin within. The soy bean has a very nice saltiness... It helps to cut down the sweetness of the red bean. Still my favourite Daifuku! PLATING TIME! Let's talk about our 1st spot, Nakiryu Definitely as good as when we 1st had it! What A robusty, punchy broth...brimming with umami from the proteins... Light heat from chilli oil & delicate numb-ey mouth feel from the Szechuan peppercorn~ Noodles are perfectly silky soft yet springy with a good bite! Forming a graceful dance with the punchy broth~ Minced pork adds to the umami & texture whereas Negi cuts down on the richness with a refreshing crunch! The low temperature cooked pork is delicate & brimming with its natural sweetness... Nice change of scenery to the deeply flavoured Tan Tan Men~ We even got a side of Chicken Gyoza that has a nice thin skin & well marinated filling. It was very enjoyable~ Now, in our years of food adventures...I would say that we've gotten a TINY glimpse...into the world of gourmet... And oftentimes what separates a great dish from a good dish, in this case ramen... Lies in the magical combination of flavours...where you can clearly tell apart every single layer...because they intermingle & melt into each other harmoniously~ Creating a concoction akin to the elixir of life~ And Nakiryu ramen falls into this category~ Not to mention it's a punchy, rich bowl that sits more on the spectrum of a clear soup ramen! It's not heavy, not cloy at all! In fact it even exudes delicateness... Now, now, now, now, now... It's not all praises & kisses for Nakiryu We've eaten at nakiryu long enough to notice that they aren't the most consistent... There will be times where the broth is just a bit 'off' in flavour balance as well as depth... However it generally doesn't fall off the cliff The worse we've ever had probably sits a level lower than our current score for Nakiryu :D Today they're at their usual level, whereas during our last visit it left quite a bit more to be desired :X And taking consideration of today's bowl, Nakiryu scores '1 Plate' on TGP! That's provided you don't mind waiting an hour or more for that bowl of ramen XD So be prepared to WAIT~ Now, on to the next stop...Gunrindou~ Quet: A delicious Mame Daifuku, still the best we've had~
WL: Mmm! I think the combination is still great, right? Quet: Yup~ Chewy, soft mochi skin...delicately gritty Tsubu-an paired with generous amount of salted soy beans that has a great snap! The red bean paste is quite sweet but it gets cut down nicely by the saltiness from the soy bean. It's a really, really good Mame Daifuku! And with that said, Gunrindou scores '1 Plate' on The Gourmet Plate! So there you have it, our 1st episode in Tokyo where we revisit our favourite ramen, Nakiryu as well as have our favourite Mame Daifuku, Gunrindou~ I think this is a beautiful start to this series because when we 1st started our channel our 1st episode was Nakiryu... So I hope we did it justice this time round :P Hope you've enjoyed this vlog, if you did, do consider giving us a 'Thumbs Up' If you've yet to subscribe, do consider subscribing & hitting that Notification Bell button! Next week we're going to have some street foods at this well known, historical temple. We're going to eat around that temple...& the temple is called Sensoji! So, see you next week in Tokyo~ Bye~
